In Hospital Hallways
by poeticgrace
Summary: Can Ben convince Felicity to give him one more chance?
1. Chapter 1

Strands of curly hair left on a white pillow case, a silver necklace hanging absently over a cabinet knob in the bathroom, the smell of turpentine on a paint-splattered shirt, a stack of medical journals askew on the kitchen table – all signs that Felicity had been there. Long after she had left their apartment in New York, Ben could find little pieces of her everywhere. There was the half-eaten box of organic graham crackers in the cabinet next to the microwave, an abandoned tube of lipstick on the dresser top, a pair of shoes shoved beneath a pile of clothes in the closet. Hidden amongst the photographs, old letters and other relics of their past were all these common, everyday things that made up their history. It made him miss her terribly.

Felicity had left New York for awhile after she caught Ben cheating on her once again. She had told him that the last time was indeed the last time, when she had caught him messing around with Claire back in Palo Alto. Ben had promised that it wouldn't happen again, a solemn vow he had kept for the past five years. Andrew was eight now, and Lauren was long gone. Ben and Felicity had been raising him together, and Felicity was the only mother the energetic little boy had ever known. Ben knew that their son was the only reason she had come back to the city at all, electing to pick up a lease on a small sublet in the Village. She saw Andrew three nights a week and every other weekend, a very informal arrangement they had decided on one night when Andrew had woken up crying for his mother.

"Dad, c'mon, it's time to go see Mom," Andrew called out, breaking Ben out of his haze. He was a full-fledged doctor now, a surgeon at New York Presbyterian. Felicity was a pediatric specialist at Mount Sinai. They were going to meet for a quick lunch on the unseasonably warm February afternoon, a rare treat when Andrew got to see both of his parents at once. "Hurry up, we're gonna be late!"

Despite the fact that he wasn't her biological child, Andrew was every bit Felicity's son. He was driven and dedicated, not necessarily a natural student but a hard worker. "Get your jacket from your room," Ben told him as he came out of his bedroom. He watched Andrew scamper down the hallway and return with a black hoodie thrown over his shirt. Ben laughed and ruffled. "Close enough, let's go meet your mom."

It was a short walk down the street and around the corner to the family's favorite deli. They had eaten there at least once a week since moving into the apartment in the Bowery. Felicity had found the rent-controlled townhouse a few years before they actually moved in, instantly falling in love with it when she had taken a walking architecture tour of the East Village. She had picked out a place just a few blocks over for herself, wanting to be nearby in case anything happened with their son.

"Mom!"

Andrew was off and running before Ben could even catch him. Felicity was already waiting for them outside the door, her favorite winter parka thrown over her shoulder. She caught Andrew in her arms, hugging him tightly while smiling kindly at Ben over his head. "Hey, Bug," she said brightly to her son, burying her nose in his sandy brown hair. She set him down on his feet and smiled at him. He looked so much like Ben that it made her heartache. "I missed you. How was the science museum with Dad?"

"Really cool! The dinosaur exhibit was so awesome!" he exclaimed, waving his hands for emphasis.

Felicity laughed in response as she stood back up and passed beneath Ben's arm holding open the door for them. The three of them ambled over to their usual table in the corner. Andrew crawled into the lone chair, leaving the booth for Felicity and Ben. He looked at her uncomfortably and gestured for her to slide in first. She murmured her thanks as she slid into the seat as far away from her husband as possible.

The space between them felt like the Pacific Ocean. Felicity had always sat so close to him, invading his space long before he wanted her to. Ben waved over their young waitress and placed their usual order. Andrew always had the turkey sandwich with homemade chips, Felicity liked the tuna bagel with a side salad and he opted for the French dip with a small bowl of tomato basil soup. Once the girl bounced off toward the kitchen, he tuned back into the stories Andrew was telling about their venture to the Museum of Natural History.

The meal went off without a hitch, and all too soon, Ben was leading his family outside. "Mom, will you ride over to Brandon's with us?" Andrew asked. He was spending the night at his best friend's house.

Felicity looked at Ben before relenting. They let Andrew hail a cab and were grateful when he climbed in between them in the backseat. He talked animatedly the entire way across town to Brandon's apartment on the Upper West Side. Coming from a wealthy family of lawyers, Brandon could have been a pretentious, spoiled brat, but he was surprisingly humble and generous. Brandon and Andrew had become fast friends when they shared a table in kindergarten and had remained close since. Felicity and Ben had even become friendly with his parents, a free-spirited power couple named Jillian and Mitchell Kensington.

"Hey, guys!" Jillian bubbled as she opened the door. Andrew rushed past, dropping his coat and bag in the hallway on his way toward Brandon's room. The parents exchanged polite smiles. "Please, come in for a minute? We haven't seen you guys in ages."

They hadn't really talked to too many people about their separation. Meaghan and Sean knew since they were the couple's best friends, but only a few others knew. Ben had told Noel and Zoe last week over dinner, slightly surprised that Felicity hadn't let it slip to her former flame yet. Felicity had, however, told Julie on one of their marathon phone calls. She had mentioned it briefly when she had dropped off Andrew on Sunday night.

Mitchell was reading the newspaper in the living room when Ben and Felicity sat down awkwardly on the leather sofa. "Hey!" he greeted them warmly, folding the _Times_ business section in half. "What have you guys been up to? I've been meaning to put together a dinner date, but we've been so busy with Brandon's soccer schedule."

"Tell me about it," Ben laughed politely. Andrew was a natural athlete like his father and had fallen in love with baseball from the first day of t-ball practice. "We have been going to pitching lessons a couple nights a week."

"Well, he always has had a promising arm," Mitchell grinned. "Where have you been, Felicity? I haven't seen you in a long time."

"Busy at the hospital and with Andrew, I guess," she replied with a kind smile. The four of them talked for a few more minutes before Felicity glanced down at her watch. She was working nights this week, still paying her dues as the youngest doctor on staff. "I hate to cut this short, but I really have to get going. I'm due at the hospital in an hour."

They made polite small talk as Mitchell and Jillian walked Ben and Felicity to the door. They called Andrew in one last time to hug him and tell him goodbye, but their son barely paid any attention before scampering back out of sight to hang with his friends. Jillian proposed a dinner date soon and Felicity promised to call. Mitchell said they would be in the Village next week for a museum opening and asked them to join them. Ben said he would get back with them later and managed their escape before too many other questions could be asked.

"I feel kind of bad that we didn't tell them," Felicity said as they waited for a cab. The air had turned cold again and she was shaking. Ben slipped his jacket from his shoulders and wrapped it around her. She reached up and patted his hand on her shoulder as a sign of thanks before moving back into his own personal space. "I hate telling people."

"I know."

"I miss you, Ben, you know that, right?"

"I do," he confirmed. "You have one more month on your lease. We said we'd reevaluate it then."

Felicity nodded sadly before turning back toward the cab that had pulled up to the curb. Ben opened the door so that she could slide in. She stayed more toward the middle this time, not wanting to put so much space between them. It always felt better when they worked in tandem as a team. "Mount Sinai" she told the driver before looking at her husband. "You don't mind, do you? I really need to get to the hospital."

"No problem," were the last two words they said for the entire ride to the hospital. Ben was tired and dreading going home to an empty apartment by the time they pulled up to the curb. He told the driver to keep the meter running as he got out of the car after her. He always walked her to the door to make sure she got inside okay, even after she had told him time and time again that she was fine. They stopped outside the revolving doors, Felicity handing over his jacket and Ben trying not to shiver when their fingers touched. "Alright, have a good shift."

"Thanks," she retorted, brushing a kiss on his cheek out of habit. "It was a good afternoon."

Ben smiled and waved one last time before walking back to the cab alone. He hated this part the most, going back to an empty apartment without his wife and without his son. Andrew would be home tomorrow, but he wasn't sure that Felicity ever would. However, knowing that she missed him too made it all feel a little more bareable.


	2. Chapter 2

"Dr. Covington, you have a phone call. It's your husband. He says it's an emergency."

After this many years of marriage, it was still strange to hear someone call her by Ben's last name. She had thought about keeping her maiden name of Porter, but when Ben asked her to officially adopt Andrew a few weeks before they got married, she changed her mind. She wanted their family to all have the same last name, and making her officially his mother suddenly made that seem all that more important. Once it finally sunk in what the petite nurse had said when she poked her head in the exam room, she quickly dropped her stethoscope on the counter and apologized to the parents before dashing off.

"Jack, can you check on the kid in exam three? I am pretty sure it's just a chest cold!" she called over her shoulder to her much older colleague. She didn't wait for an answer before sliding behind the nurses' desk to pick up the receiver. "Ben, it's me. What's wrong?"

Ben's breath was heavy in her ear. She could hear him cursing impatiently as a horn honked in the distance. "I'm waiting for a cab near the house. Mitchell called. There was an accident."

"An accident?" she asked in confusion. "At the apartment?"

"They decided to go out for some ice cream. They decided to take a cab. Andrew was in the back with Jillian and Brandon. The back glass broke out when someone threw something off a bridge and onto the car. It went through and hit Andrew. They don't know how bad."

Felicity started to shake as she realized what her husband was telling her. Covering her face with her hand, she tried to steady her breath so that she didn't go into a full panic attack. "Where are they taking him?"

"Morgan Stanley," Ben answered. "I'm in a cab on my way over to Broadway. Can you meet me there?"

"I'm on my way," she said. "I'll call you back on my cell so that we're connected, okay?"

"Sounds good," he replied. "Be safe."

Felicity was reconnected to Ben within a few minutes as her taxi sped toward the hospital. Ben had already arrived and was getting details from one of the doctors he knew there. Felicity could hear him through speaker phone and was able to ask the right questions. Andrew was in surgery and they wouldn't know more until after he was awake. In the mean time, all they could do was wait.

'He has to be okay, right?"

Felicity had heard that question a million times as a doctor but never applied to her own child. She rested her hand on her stomach, suddenly nauseous and overwhelmed by the chaos of it all. It was easy" to be a doctor because you could remove yourself from it. There was no distancing yourself from your own child. "He has to be," she agreed. "He's strong like his daddy and stubborn. That head is too thick and too hard not to survive."

Ben tried to muster a chuckle but instead found himself breaking down. He clutched the cellphone as a honk blared in his ear. "Are you close?"

"Just pulling up front," she told him. "Where are you?"

"The waiting room outside the trauma center."

"On my way. See you in a minute."

Felicity handed the cab driver a twenty before dashing toward the doors. She flashed her badge at a security guard that negated her need to check in. A few minutes later, she was on her way up the elevator. The numbers seemed to take forever, climbing from the lobby to the fifth floor. Ben was right there waiting as soon as she stepped off the lift. She flew into his arms, not caring that they were on the verge of divorce or that it had been awkward only a few hours before. "How's our baby?" she murmured into his shoulder. "Have you heard anything?"

"Not in the past two minutes," he whispered, inhaling her scent and holding her tightly. It was comforting that she still smelled like her, not that she would have lost that in the past few hours. It just was that nothing made sense right now. "C'mon, I'll take you to the waiting room. I should call my mom. Do you want to call your parents?"

"After we know more," she murmured. She tried not to hold Ben's hand too tightly, but she couldn't imagine letting go of him right now. There were nameless people lining the chairs in the waiting room, and Felicity knew that each one had a story. She wasn't used to being on this end of things. She liked being on the other side much better. Ben led her to a pair of chairs where he had stashed his coat. "You call your mom. I'll wait here."

He smiled at her and nodded before dropping a chaste kiss on her forehead. "I'll be right back," he promised before jogging off toward the hallway again. Felicity watched him pace, wanting to focus on anything other than the sad or sympathetic faces looking her way. She saw him stop and rub one of his hands over his face before taking a deep breath. Just as he was about to say something else to his mother, Ben caught Felicity's eye and frowned. This was hard.

When he still hadn't returned a few minutes later, Felicity slung her purse over her shoulder and went out to find him sitting at a bench a few feet away from the waiting room door. He was hunched over, his head buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking. Felicity knelt carefully in front of him and pried his fingers away from his face. "Hey, c'mon," she urged him quietly as he fell into her embrace. Felicity rubbed small circles on his back and murmured softly in his ears, comforting him much in the same way that she did Andrew after he had a bad dream. "Our boy is strong. He's got his dad's head, remember?"

Ben managed a slight chuckle but Felicity knew it was false. "Yeah, it just seems like it's taking a long time," he complained. He knew that the doctors were just taking their time and doing their job, just like he would have done. "It's different when it's your kid."

"I know," she agreed as they both stood up. It was Ben's turn to pull her into his arms, resting his chin on top of her head as he just held her. It was simple but something that they both needed right now. They needed to be grounded, to be tethered to each other. "What'd your mom say?"

"She wanted to fly in right away, but I convinced her to wait until he was out of surgery."

Felicity was about to ask Ben if he wanted to call Sean and Meaghan when an overwhelming wave of nausea rolled over her again. It was the second time this evening that she had felt like that and the fourth or fifth this week. It was only when her knees went weak and she had to sit down that she felt any real concern. Ben noticed and helped her get seated before rattling off a list of questions with the speed of a professional.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, just tired and worried," she brushed it off. "Maybe you should call Sean and let him know that his godson is in the hospital. They'd want to be here with us."

"After we know more," Ben countered, "and don't change the subject. I'm worried."

"Don't be, I can take care of myself," she said almost angrily.

"Alright..."

They sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes until a man in green scrubs came out of the double doors. "Dr. Covington?" he announced before both parents looked up at him in response. He smiled apologetically at Ben and Felicity before continuing. "I have some news about your son. He is out of surgery and things went well. We were able to stop the bleeding and check for damage. While he is pretty bruised and cut up, there was no permanent trauma found. As you know, he'll be out of it for awhile, and when he does wake up, we will still need to explain what happened to him. In the mean time, he will be in his room in a few minutes if you would like to see him."

"Thanks, Nick," Ben replied, standing up to shake his hand. Morgan Stanley was the pediatric branch of his hospital so he was familiar with many of the medical staff. "This is my wife, Felicity Covington. She's in pediatrics over at Mount Sinai. Felicity, Dr. Nick Adelson."

"Thank you, Dr. Adelson," Felicity replied as she shook his hand. "Thank you for taking care of our son."

When a nurse appeared a few minutes later, Ben and Felicity were led back to Andrew's room. He looked so small in the big bed that it nearly broke Felicity's heart. Ben sat at his son's side, holding his hand tightly, and talking to his unconscious body. Felicity watched them from the doorway before that same wave of nausea hit her again. The last thing she heard was Ben calling her name before she hit the floor and the world went dark around her.


	3. Chapter 3

Felicity was aware that she was being watched even before she opened her eyes. She could smell the familiar scent of sanitizer in air and a constant flow of manufactured cool air blowing across her closed eyelids. Someone was holding her hand and saying something softly, but she couldn't quite make out the words. She wished that she was at home – her real home – snuggled up in bed with her boys watching a movie.

"Hey, there," Ben said quietly as she opened her eyes. He was holding her hand with one of his own and used the other to brush hair away from her forehead. Felicity smiled at him weakly and motioned for a cup of water. "You gave us quite a scare."

Felicity leaned forward and sipped through the straw Ben was holding out for her. Once her dry throat wasn't quite so scratchy, she sat up enough so that she could take in her surroundings. She was tucked into a hospital bed with no idea how much time had passed. "What happened? Why am I here?" she asked. When he started to remind her about Andrew, she shook her head and reiterated her question about being in the hospital. "Ben, is something wrong with me?"

"You passed out," he explained as he sat in the chair next to him. "You were talking one minute and then flat on your back the next minute. They checked you out to make sure everything is fine. They said you were dehydrated and a little anemic, so that might explain why you passed out. The doctor also had a little bit of news."

"Is it about Andrew?"

Ben shook his head and slid an envelope from his breast pocket. "Why don't you ready it for yourself?" he retorted, handing it over to his wife. Felicity looked at him in confusion. He knew exactly how she was feeling right now. His own head was spinning at a million miles a minute, trying but failing to catch up with what had happened over the past several hours. First it had been his son and now it was his wife. "Felicity, just read it."

She tore away at the flap carefully and pulled the manila slip from the envelope. She recognized the form immediately as her jaw dropped. Felicity looked up at Ben and then back at the paper. This couldn't be right. She couldn't be. "I'm pregnant?"

"Apparently so," he said. "I kind of thought you might have known already and were keeping it from me. I thought maybe you didn't want to tell me after everything else that had been going on."

Felicity shook her head as she read over the paper again. She couldn't believe that she was pregnant. They had talked about trying, but Ben had wanted to be more established in his career before they had another child. Felicity had agreed with him for the most part and had dropped the issue. The last thing she had expected was to end up pregnant and on the verge of divorce. It was the exact opposite of the image she had in mind when she had thought about expanding their family. Her life suddenly felt even messier than it had hours before.

"Ben, of course I'd tell you," she vowed. "I would never keep that from you. I mean, I know that I've been distant after everything, but I wouldn't do that to you. I really had no idea. I was only a week late, and I kind of just thought it was the stress. It's happened before. Oh, my goodness, are you sure this is right? Am I really pregnant? Are we having a baby?"

He had to laugh a little at her ramble. It had been awhile since he had been on the receiving end of one of those. She was usually quiet these days unless wrapped up in a conversation with Andrew. "Yes, I am pretty sure that the test is right. You are indeed really pregnant, which kind of means that we are having a baby," he answered. "Wow, we're going to have a baby. I'm going to be a father again."

Something finally sunk in. "How's Andrew?"

"Meaghan and Sean are in with him right now. He was sleeping when I went and checked on him a few minutes ago," he replied. "He doesn't know that anything happened, so don't worry about that. I thought you might want to tell him together when he was feeling a little bit better. You know that he's always wanted a little brother or sister. He's going to be pretty excited."

"And what about you?" Her voice was small and bare audible over the constant hum of the monitors attached to her body. Everything was such a mess right now, and adding a child to the equation wouldn't doing anything to simplify it. She'd completely understand if Ben wasn't taking the news in stride. She wasn't entire sure how she would take it herself later when it had truly sunk in. "Are you excited?"

"Are you kidding me?" he laughed. "I'm ecstatic, honey! This is what we have always talked about doing, and okay, so maybe it wasn't planned, but I am so happy."

She wanted to say that he didn't have to pretend to be happy. She wanted to tell him to slow down and that this didn't change anything about their situation. She wanted to ask him to crawl into bed and just hold her. She wanted to go see her son and share the big news. She wanted to go back to that night and double up on protection. She wanted to kick herself for giving into temptation that night after counseling. She wanted to fast forward a year and see how it all worked out. She wanted to do many things, but instead she settled for something completely different.

"I think maybe I should move back into the apartment when my lease is up. I want to come home."

Ben's face lit up in a wide grin as he nodded in agreement. "I can have Noel and Sean help move everything whenever you are ready," he offered. "But I don't want you to feel obligated, Felicity. If you need more time, I understand. We don't have to rush this. Just because we're having this baby doesn't mean that changes how you feel. I get that."

"You're right, it doesn't," she agreed. "I am still hurt and angry at you for what you did to our family, but I also still love you. I promised you a long time ago that I would always love you more than I hated you, and that hasn't changed. This baby needs both its parents together, just like Andrew needs us together. It's going to take a lot of work, but I am willing to put in the time. I just need you to promise that this is it. I won't put my kids through this anymore."

"I promise, Felicity, I will do whatever it takes to make our family work," he promised. He was in tears now and so was Felicity. Their hands were entwined on her stomach, both so acutely aware of the life that they had created was living in there. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied before turning her face toward him to kiss her.

"Eww!" Felicity looked over Ben's shoulder to see their son in a wheelchair. It had been twelve hours since his surgery had ended now, and she knew that it was a good sign that the surgeons had allowed him out of bed to come down to see his mother. Sean was pushing him, Meaghan at his side with their four-year-old daughter on her hip. "Seriously, guys, no more kissing." Andrew pretended to be offended by his parents' public display of affection, but the grin on his face told them both that he was happy to see them back together. "How are you feeling, Mom?"

"Better now that you're here," she smiled. "You scared your dad and me."

"Sorry," he grinned, ducking his head as Sean parked him by her bedside.

Ben asked Sean and Meaghan for a few minutes alone with his family. "Buddy, we need to talk to you."

"I know, you and mom are back together," he said matter-of-factly. "Right? That's why you were kissing?"

Felicity looked at her husband and then her son. "We're working on that, sweetheart."

"So what do you need to tell me?"

"I'm having a baby," Felicity told him. "You're going to be a big brother."

"Really?" he asked excitedly, looking between his parents. "Are you and the baby gonna live with dad and me again?"

Ben nodded and squeezed his wife's hand. "Yes, we're all going to give together as a family."

"Mom, that's so cool!" he said excitedly. He started to get up and hug his mom before Ben put his hand on Andrew's shoulder to stop him. Helping him slowly to his feet, Ben managed to get Andrew up on the bed next to Felicity and then sat on the edge next to his wife. Here they were, the whole Covington family – Dad, Mom, Andrew and Baby. It wasn't perfect quite yet, but it was a good start.

_**Fin.**_


End file.
